Star Wars Episode IX: What to Expect from the Knights of Ren

The Knights of Ren are rumored to have a large role in the upcoming Star Wars Episode IX. Here’s what to expect from them.

One of the most interesting parts of the new trilogy of films is the infamous Knights of Ren, of whom Kylo Ren, the new main antagonist and current Supreme Leader, is said to be the leader of.

Aside from a brief appearance in Rey’s force vision from Episode VII The Force Awakens and a few passing mentions in the past two entries in the main saga, they have not been featured at all in the new movies and very little has been said about them.

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Disney and Lucasfilm stated that after the Last Jedi and Solo: A Star Wars Story were received with a mixed reaction from fans, the untitled Episode IX, which is set to be released in December of 2019, is said to be a course correction for the franchise, and adding the Knights of Ren into the upcoming movie would be a good draw to bring fans back over to the light side of the force.

Director J.J. Abrams, who both wrote and directed The Force Awakens, will be returning to the franchise once again for Episode IX, and since he was the one who came up with the concept of the Knights of Ren and because Rian Johnson neglected to use them in The Last Jedi he “didn’t see a place for them in the movie” and didn’t want to waste them, I hope that means that the group will finally be done justice in the finale of the new trilogy.

Additionally, recent Reddit leaks from the Pinewood Studios set shoots, which have since been removed, say that the Knights of Ren will finally appear in the upcoming movie and Matt Smith might be playing one of them. According to the leak, they will also have a lengthy amount of screen time, so with all that said, I’m willing to bet money that they’re gonna be in it.

As of, now all we know about them so far is that they first formed some time in the years following the collapse of the empire and currently serve under the First Order. They are led by Kylo Ren, who was the apprentice to Supreme Leader Snoke before his death, and are all Dark Side force users, following the teachings of the ancient Sith.

As for their physical appearance, the only time they were shown on-screen was in The Force Awakens, where they were shown to all be wearing black cloaks and armor, and had helmets similar to that of Kylo Ren’s. In their brief scene, some were shown to be carrying weapons, but the only one shown wielding a Lightsaber was Kylo, so it is unknown if any of them use one as well.

Personally, I went into The Last Jedi hoping the Knights of Ren would be more predominately featured and was a bit disappointed when they didn’t appear at all.

I thought that the idea first teased in Episode VII of Kylo Ren being in command of an elite group of dark side force users was interesting and something that we had yet to see in Star Wars movies, and it would also go against the “Rule of Two” that Sith Lords were said to abide by.

In the original trilogy, Luke only ever faced one-on-one combat with Vader and never had any offense against the Emperor, and in the prequels, no Jedi faced more than one Sith Lord at a time either — although a few Sith Lords such as Maul and Count Dooku faced multiple Jedi at once.

A group battle of both Jedi and Sith would be something new to the Star Wars movie franchise and one thing that The Last Jedi seriously lacked was a great Lightsaber duel.

Scratch that. It lacked ANY Lightsaber duel. Seriously, go back and watch it. The only point in the entire movie where two Lightsabers hit each other was Luke’s brief flashback to when he and Ben Solo fought and Ben destroyed his new Jedi Temple.

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

However, the throne room battle where Rey and Kylo teamed up to face against Supreme Leader Snoke’s guards, in my opinion, was one of the best action sequences in any Star Wars movie and my favorite moment of the new trilogy. It clearly shows the fun dynamic that a group battle can have, and something I hope to see more of in future films.

It was said that after Ben and Luke fought and he destroyed the Temple, he and Luke’s other apprentices fled, so presumably those other Jedi in training became the Knights of Ren who now serve under Kylo’s command.

If that is the case, then it means that they also have a history and connection to Luke Skywalker. Some may have a grudge against him for turning on his old apprentice, giving them further motive and developing some character behind why they all sided with the First Order and turn to the Dark Side along with Kylo.

Similarly, some of them probably only left not because they were seduced by the Sith, but because they were betrayed by their Master, believing that he was the bad one and that they were still on the side of the light. Some could have second thoughts about what they are doing as Kylo turns further and further to the Dark Side, and with Rey now being a full light-side force user, they may turn to her to lead them and bring them back to the light.

If this happens, it could lead to just what I was hoping for. A group battle between the light and dark sides of the force, with one side led by Kylo Ren and his loyal knights, against Rey and defecting knights siding with the Resistance to face the First Order, with the victor being left to raise a new generation of force users under whatever teaching they see as fit.

If Disney wants to make this film a course correction, then they should give the fans what they want, and the way I see it, a definitive Jedi versus Sith battle to conclude the new trilogy of films is what many of us, myself included hope to see in Episode IX. No politics, no forced love story, just an intense battle for control of the Galaxy.

What would you guys like to see in the upcoming Star Wars Episode IX? Comment your ideas below.